Treason Cannot Touch Them
by VisualIDentificationZeta
Summary: Her beseeching eyes are staring deep into his soul, begging, pleading with him not to reject her again. Not to break her heart as he had done in Winterfell, in that room, at the feast, every single time he looked at her with shame in his eyes at having laid with his aunt. How will he choose?


TITLE: Treason Cannot Touch Them

SPOILERS: Series 8, episode 6

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the Game of Thrones and Song of Ice and Fire are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fic. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: after years of nothing I felt inspired to write again. Please forgive my rustiness. Like so many others I am disgusted by the way D&D "finished" the show, destroying everything that was great about it, assassinating the characters I loved and murdering one of the most powerful and likeable characters so cruelly, viciously and callously. Even Don P. Bellisario, a standard for horrible directors, can't compare to the sheer primitivism that Dumb&Dumber demonstrated. The things I wanted to do to them, especially in my shock during the first week when I was honestly mourning Dany as if she was a real person and a woman I loved, are something that would probably put me on a watchlist lol. At the very least, I hope they NEVER find any work EVER again, even as attendants at petrol stations. And that their dicks turn black, shrivel and fall off.

Thousands of fix-its have been written and posted, the rage and pain of community apparent every day that goes by and this is just one of them. Even though this is a fix-it of the most painful and hurtful scene of TV history that I've ever seen I believe that the entire season 8 and parts of season 7 should simply be erased and written and filmed again.

Dany deserved better and so did Jon. I simply can't comprehend how D&D actually thought any of S8 would make sense through the eyes of the previous 7 seasons and the characters as we knew them. I truly hope GRRM paid very, very careful attention to the response of fans to the end of the show and noted the rage and betrayal and learned from it. I truly hope he will give Dany and Jon the happy ending they deserve. The show is over, now it's on us, the fans, to fix the mistakes of it's creators.

We are the ones that will keep it alive, we are the ones that honestly respect the characters and it's on us to keep the flame alive.

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"Be with me. Build the new world with me. This is our reason. It has been since the beginning, since you were a little boy with a bastard's name and I was a little girl who couldn't count to twenty. We do it together. We break the wheel together."

_And you have to choose now. _

Her beseeching eyes are staring deep into his soul, begging, pleading with him not to reject her again. Not to break her heart as he had done in Winterfell, in that room, at the feast, every single time he looked at her with shame in his eyes at having laid with his aunt.

_I know you love her. Love is more powerful than reason_

What would you know of love, you vicious little half-man?

_Love is the death of duty_.

And duty is the death of love, Master Aemon.

Is it, though?

He's bent the knee to this woman, sworn her fealty _in perpetuity_.

And during those hours in her cabin, the hours that were the happiest times of his life, he'd also sworn love and loyalty to her. _In perpetuity_. Forever. As long as he lived.

_And you have to choose now. _

Tyrion kept betraying his Queen every step of the way ever since they came to Westeros. In spite of his vows and his position as Hand he's worked against Daenerys in favor of his family of snakes in the grass, baby-murderers, rapists, sister-fuckers, megalomaniacs and blood-thirsty madwomen every time he had to choose. He had deliberately sabotaged every single step of Dany's campaign, every single step of her life-mission, every single step of her path to rebuilding her House.

How did Dany not see that?

And now this little snake of a man wants him to do the same. _Him._ Jon Snow, whose father was executed by Tyrion's own family. Him, Aegon Targaryen, whose half-siblings were brutally murdered by the order of the man's father himself.

He and Dany are the last of their House exactly because of the tireless, gruesome and savage work of the very man's family who now tried to manipulate him into betraying everything he stood for.

Love for Daenerys Targaryen.

Loyalty.

Honor.

Duty to his House.

Even though he's been caught in a vicious cycle of identity crisis, the fact remains House Targaryen _is still his House._

But Tyrion is not alone, he's helped by Jon's own remaining siblings. Cousins.

Crippled brother with that creepy smirk that spends more time in some other world of his, planning, scheming, manipulating, doing gods-know-what in-between than in the present. Brother that manipulated Jon's weak-minded best friend into revealing world-shattering news on the eve of the most important battle mankind has ever fought, during the very time Jon felt the happiest and most content in his life. A news that could've easily spelt doom for Jon because it could've distracted him enough to get himself killed.. News that was now quite clearly carefully planned in order to inflict the maximum possible amount of damage to Jon's young relationship with the Dragon Queen. Designed to tear them apart, designed to make Jon vulnerable and succeptible to poisonous whispers that would lead him to killing his aunt, the woman he loves. The woman that is the only thing standing in the way of the crippled boy thirst for throne. Crippled brother who chooses very carefully what to say, when to say, withholds crucial information and what he shares is phrased in ways that cause the most hurt. Crippled boy that took on the name of some raven in order to absconce himself of any and all responsibility. _Oh, it's not Brandon's fault, it's that evil Raven that took over his mind and body that did all those gruesome things_ is what people are supposed to say. _You can't blame a cripple, what sort of horrible person are you?!_ they would also say.

Brother, Jon now sees, that may be the most dangerous threat this world has ever seen, even more so than the Night King.

Sansa, the redheaded viper who broke an oath sworn before a Heart Tree, _the holiest of vows,_ who immediately turned against the woman that protected her precious North at immense cost to herself. The woman that lost her child, her close friend and protector and most of her army for Sansa's home. Sansa who didn't waste time informing a treasonous dwarf with the wish of spelling death of the only woman good in the whole of that dark, ugly castle. Sansa who despised and reviled him when they were children just because of the supposed dishonorable circumstances of his birth and now, when they know he is trueborn and of much higher status and blood, wants to use and exploit him to get power. Sansa who got rid of their trueborn brother who was an obstacle on her march to control of Winterfell; Sansa who kept the existence of knights reinforcements from him until the very last moment when Jon was almost dead which cost several times more Wildling lives than it could've, Sansa who took steps as if she wanted him to die while fighting the Boltons to grab the North all for herself, Sansa who stabbed him in the back time and time again; Sansa who wants to throw him to the wolves to either be executed as traitor or live the rest of his miserable life with the weight of Kinslayer and Queenslayer curses on his shoulders and soul-destroying act of having murdered the woman he loved on his soul. Only because Sansa wants to be Queen herself. How many bodies lie behind in the wake of the redhead's ruthless march to power?

Sansa Stark... the bastard child of Petyr Baelish and Cersei Lannister; combining both their lust for power, madness, ruthlessness, talent for manipulation and back-stabbing, conniving and deception.

Arya, the little girl who adored him once; the dead-eyed assassin she is now. Arya who was not satisfied with just dealing justice the Northern way to those who deserved it; but ground down a man into minced meat to bake a pie with, then served him to his own father, no matter who they were. They deserved death, but not that way. Arya who was not satisfied with dealing justice to those who deserved it, but poisoned every single person inside the keep, from the Lord all the way down to the innocent servants, cooking staff, babies and even pets. Arya who killed countless others in unimaginable ways and who shucked off all responsibility for the murders on some god and on being another person when she killed. Arya who gave him the dagger she wants him to slip between the ribs of his love, Arya who wants him to be Kinslayer and Queenslayer and wouldn't mind if he hanged or was exiled.

These are the people he grew up with.

These are the people that now expect him to do their dirty work for them.

What is his response?

Simple.

Fuck them.

FUCK THEM ALL!

Is Tyrion really this arrogant to believe pretty words from a traitor will sway a man in love to kill the woman he loves more than life itself? Even though she burned down a city? Is he really forgetting that Jon is a soldier, has been in countless battles and knows better than anyone that war is death and that there is no easy and clean way to conquer a city held by a madwoman without casualties? Dany _did want_ to take King's Landing when he first met her in a way that would've been swiftest, but Tyrion himself and Varys, two traitors, convinced her not to do it, that their way was best. Their way - best way, cost so many more lives than Dany's and now that little shit is trying to be noble and thinking of the people.

People die in war, that is a fact of life. With who men and women are, wars are a constant in nature, like floods and rain.

Is he really that stupid that he thinks Jon would turn on his own House, his _only living relative_, to protect one of the most vile families in Westeros? Lannister Lions who wrought so much disaster, suffering and death on the kingdom?

Lions... Bah. They were never lions. They were snakes. Vipers in the grass. All of them, every single last one. But now there is only one left and he is in a cell, soon to meet his end. By Jon's hand if it will please his Queen.

Winter has come for House Lannister.

Tyrion didn't fool Jon, the little shit is terrified of dying, he was on the verge of pissing himself when talking to the Targaryen heir. He would, and always has, say anything, sacrifice anyone, just to get himself out of the noose.

All of these conspirators, the lowliest of lowlives, are forgetting one thing.

Jon has been on the other end of betrayal himself and has felt the feeling of cold steel shoved into his heart. He despises traitors with all of his being. And he loves Daenerys Targaryen with all that he is.

"They want me to kill you."

Dany's beautiful face freezes as the words leave his mouth, those vile sounds drifting in the air between them as gorgeous violet orbs widen in rage and fear. Fear of him. Pain stabs through Jon's heart at that fear as if the very dagger his sister... his cousin... gave him has been sent through it. Dany has no reason to fear him and he will prove it to her. He will keep proving it to her day after day if she allows him for the next 50 years if they are lucky enough.

Reaching into his armor Jon pulls out the dagger with the tips of his index finger and thumb before throwing it away, the deadly weapon landing with a metallic thud in the ash and stone.

"Arya gave that to me." he nods in the direction he threw it "Tyrion, your Lord Hand, provided the pretty words that were supposed to convince me to betray you and push it into your heart."

Dany is yet to say anything, frozen on the steps to the throne as her nostrils flare, her pale cheeks blushing with the rage she feels. Jon can see her trembling and she reminds him of a volcano about to erupt.

"But they are all forgetting something..."

Jon's hands drift to his belt. Soon his sword belt with Longclaw follows the dagger into dust.

"That I've tasted betrayal and hate it with everything I am."

With quick, practiced tugs he unstraps his armor, removing his gambeson even before that hits the ground. He holds his arms out to show he is unarmed, that he is not a danger, that he is the one still true to her and moves away from the pile.

He looks up at her, eyes open and vulnerable, letting her see all his thoughts and feelings, as she comes out of her daze. Dany's tiny feet that he held in his hands and massaged not so long ago descend the few steps of the dais as she approaches him warily, yet drawn in like a moth.

She hasn't said anything yet, he doesn't know what she's thinking, if she's about to call Drogon to burn him alive, but at this point he's not sure if he even cares anymore.

"They're also forgetting I swore you my sword and my heart. You'll always be my Queen, Dany. You're the Queen of my heart and let Drogon eat me alive if I ever think of hurting you. I let you down when you needed me most and I carry that shame with me every second of my life since. You are my last living relative, we are the last of the great House Targaryen and I never should've abandoned you like I did."

With that he sinks down on one knee in the ash, head sinking reverently to stare at the floor, willing to accept any punishment, even death, for listening to poisoned words instead of immediately cutting the vile tongue out of that filthy mouth and striking his cousins down where they stood.

"I am yours to do with as you please, my Queen."

The seconds are as long as hours as he listens to the shuffle and quiet breathing of his Queen as she processes all that he said.

The touch of small fingers on the crown of his head startles him for a second, but they do not stop there. Slowly, tenderly, the Mother of Dragons slides her small hand down the side of his face until she cups his chin and brings his eyes to hers. The lavender depths are shining with brimming tears and her gorgeous full lips pursed in a way that makes him desperately want to kiss them.

"Rise, my King."

The words are whispered, but as she lifts her hand she does not need to exert any pressure for Jon to rise with it.

"Do you mean what you said?" her eyes are searching, as if she doesn't let herself believe it yet "Are you sure you're not bothered by our blood anymore? Are you sure you still love me after everything I did?"

As if she can't believe that after everything that's happened, everything she's done today, she still has his loyalty and love. She was deathly afraid he would turn his back on her or do exactly what she now heard others encouraged him to, but now she knows her fears were stupid. Even if he no longer loved her, Jon is still not a man to break a vow, to turn on the person he swore allegiance to, to turn on his family.

Jon bridges the yawning chasm between them as he stares deeply into her eyes.

"Yes, I do. I love you, Dany."

The whispered words, paired with the tender look in his eyes and the gentleness in his hands as they cup her cheek undo her. Tears surge down her pale cheeks as she lifts on her toes and hungrily takes his lips in a kiss that conveys everything she's been feeling ever since that fateful moment in the crypts. The pain, the anger, the betrayal, the crushed hope, the love.

"You didn't answer my questions." Dany smiled tremulously, her heart overwhelmed with love and joy "Will you build a better world with me? Will you break the wheel with me?"

Such a silly question. Of course he will.

"Aye, I will. But on two conditions."

Dany's eyes narrow in quick anger and her nostrils flare, before Jon's solemn countenance crumbles and he grins.

"First, if you will forgive me for being a bloody, obstinate fool and ignoring your wishes when you asked me not to tell my sister. And second, if you will do me the honor of becoming my wife."

She rolls her beautiful eyes and huffs at him before answering "That goes without saying, King Snow."

That stops her for a second, those lush dark eyebrows raising as she squints at him "On that topic. What do you want to be called? Snow? Stark? Or Targaryen?"

He knows what she's asking, is he going to be accepting his heritage and their family or will he continue sticking his head in the sand and be ashamed of laying with the sister of his father.

"All my life I've been Jon Snow," he sighs "believing myself a bastard of a noble lord and an unknown woman. But it was all a lie. I did have a mother and she loved me. The man who raised me loved me, but he was not my father. My father, no matter the mistakes he made that cost so many lives, I know that he loved me. My parents gave me a name and even though it will be strange for a while and I don't feel like Aegon yet, I will not run from who I truly am. I am a Targaryen and it's about damn time I accept that."

Happiness blooms in the silver-haired Queen's face, her lips stretching in the kind of a smile he's never seen on her and her eyes are shining with both joy and tears at his decision and it is then that Jon knows he made the right decision. He may have been raised a wolf, but he is all dragon.

"Come, my love, we need to deal with those who would seek to do us harm. As my Lord Hand is already in dungeouns we only need to arrest your cousins." she says with one last kiss and takes his hand, intertwining their fingers.

Pain and hesitation strikes at him for a moment, but then recedes. Jon knows there is no other way, he's chosen his side knowing that treason and traitors should be punished appropriately. His cousins were adult - old enough to take responsibility for their actions, knew what they were doing when they turned on their Queen and tried to have her murdered and they knew what the consequences would be if they failed. They accepted that and now they have it coming.

"Aye, I know where they are."

It would be right to punish Arya with the same weapon she intended to be used against her Queen, but that would be too risky, she is too dangerous. Dragonfire will work just as well. It's kind of a poetic justice for her to die by the very creature she so admired when she was a child, back when they still play-acted Targaryen heroes, unaware that one of them was an actual Targaryen, one of the three remaining of that great House. One of the three remaining of an entire race and civilization.

Now, years later, Jon wonders whether he didn't make a grave mistake when he encouraged her to play with weapons when she should've been preparing for a life as a Lady of a castle to run. It would've made her miserable and made her hate him as Sansa hated him, but the world has enough cold-blooded killers as it is, no need for one more.

"I do not wish you to be called a Kinslayer, so I will not have you deliver justice." his bethroted states firmly and Jon feels a lump in his throat at her concern for his wellbeing, so opposite to what the people he'd grown up with, people he considered his siblings, are like. _Dany_, the so-called Mad Queen, doesn't want him to become a Kinslayer; while his cousins - people who should care about him, don't give a damn. Nothing of how it would affect him. He's just a tool for them, a weapon, easily discarded when no longer useful.

"Thank you." he rasps past the obstruction in his throat "But even if I don't swing the sword, I want to be there. They not only tried to use me like a puppet, but, even more importantly, they betrayed _you _and conspired to have you killed. I want to be there when they realize they failed and I want to be there when they burn for their crimes."

Daenerys nods and tugs at his hand, leading him out of the Throne room. With a look at the throne Jon knows they have another important conversation to have, if Dany really wants to break the wheel then she must destroy it's physical embodiment first and nothing is more symbolic of that wheel that grinds down on innocent people than a throne made of swords.

_If you sit on a throne of swords, you will die by a sword_.

But first they need to find Grey Worm and take the traitors into custody. Drogon will administer justice for one last time, after that they should use other, non-magical means. The ruination of their House came about partly because of overuse of fire and their plan is to rebuild the House to it's former glory.

As they step out into the destroyed city and he looks around he does not see the destruction. No, he sees in his mind how it will look in one year time or 2 years time. Rubble removed, dead buried, injured taken care of, houses replaced, sewage installed, hospitals, schools, public wellfare buildings. Their reign may have started with fear, but their people will come to love them as they love the people.

All with the love of his life at his side. And, maybe if they are really lucky and Jon has reason to believe they are if the almost unnoticable bulge under her leather jacket is any indication; they will look at their city with the heir of their dynasty in Dany's arms.

Because treason... treason cannot touch them.

_**Not the end, but The beginning**_


End file.
